The Raatz Fence was a classic(as usual). The state of Kentucky dominated yesterday and got me to thinking, is this the best it been? The talent in the Louisville area is insane then you add Mercer Co(9 threes...,,...in the first Qtr) Mason, SK and a multitude of other teams across the state.

 

So how bout it....

Maybe KY will finally have some success in the KY-IN post season games?

Maybe KY will finally have some success in the KY-IN post season games?

 

We decidedly have a better chance on the girls' side for sure. We stopped having a chance when we stopped producing Super 5 players on the boys' side 25 or so years ago. Wasn't Dwayne Morton in '90 our last Super 5 boys' player?

Kentucky Boys with Chris Lofton in 2004 beat Indiana in the 1st game. He turned an ankle and Indiana won the 2nd game but it was close.

 

Clinton Lewis/Daily News Indiana all-star and WKU signee Courtney Lee battles Kentucky’s Parfait Bitte (right) for the ball during Saturday’s game in Owensboro.

By OJ Stapleton, [email protected] — 270-783-3239 Jun 20, 2004 0

Bluegrass supremacy

 

Kentucky Mr. Basketball leads team to victory

 

Sunday, June 20, 2004

 

OWENSBORO Kentuckys Mr. Basketball, Chris Lofton, put on a scoring clinic as the Kentucky All-Stars won the annual Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game 89-81 on Saturday night at the Owensboro Sportscenter.

 

Lofton poured in 41 points while going 13-of-25 from the floor and 9-of-16 from the foul line. He was just one point shy of Jim McDaniels single-game record of 42 set in 1967.

 

I didnt even know I was that close to the record, Lofton said. If only I had made my free throws.

 

His six 3-pointers broke the old record of five, held by Kentucky star Rex Chapman and former Hilltopper Patrick Sparks.

 

People in this area are probably surprised to see Chris do the things he did, said Kentucky All-Stars coach Kelly Wells, who guided Lofton at Mason County. Weve seen him do this time and time again, so Im not surprised.

 

While the Kentucky All-Stars featured three Western Kentucky recruits, it was the lone Hilltopper on the Indiana roster who stood out the most. Courtney Lee scored a team-high 28 points and also added seven rebounds, three blocks and four assists.

 

Hes a great player, said Kentuckys Ty Rogers, who will be playing with Lee at WKU. I was glad to go up against him. I cant wait to play with him. Practicing against him every day is just going to make me better.

 

Rogers was the most successful of the Kentucky teams WKU recruits, even though he had an poor shooting night just eight points on 4-of-12 shooting while being hounded by Lee on defense for most of the contest.

 

Tonight the shots werent falling for me, Rogers said. Something Ive always tried to take pride in is if the shots arent falling, you cant quit. This games not for quitters and theres a lot of other things you can do other than score.

 

Those other things he did was pull down a team-best eight rebounds seven of which came on the offensive end.

 

Those were critical times that he had those when we were really struggling offensively, Wells said. One of the things I told the kids was that you dont win if you dont rebound, and he set the tone there.

 

Matt Maresca, who played for state champion Warren Central and will walk on at WKU, finished with four points, three rebounds and a blocked shot in 14 minutes of action.

 

I think Ive got room for improvement, Maresca said. Im going to try my best to get even better for the next game.

 

Cavernas Boris Siakam started the game but lasted just 2:30 in the first half before he picked up two quick fouls and sat the rest of the first half. He only played three minutes in the second half and finished with no points or rebounds.

 

After trailing by five at the break, Indiana came out with a 2-3 zone defense to start the second half that stymied the Kentucky offense.

 

Kentucky managed just one field goal a dunk by Demetrius Guions in the first 5:29 of the second half as Indiana took a 54-50 lead.

 

That zone caused us some trouble, Wells said. I think that was dictated through our tempo.

 

Lee scored five points during the 11-2 Indiana run.

 

Kentucky came right back and scored nine unanswered points to take a 61-56 lead with 11:37 left.

 

Indiana battled back and took the lead once more around the eight-minute mark, but Kentucky went on a 13-3 run and never looked back from that point on.

 

The win snapped a five-game losing streak in the series for Kentucky. The last victory came in 2001 when Sparks led the team to a 103-90 win in the first game played in Owensboro.

 

We worked hard all this week and its great that it all paid off, Maresca said. We still have another game left though, and were not going to let up. We dont want to win just one, we want to win both.

 

The two teams will meet next Saturday in Indianapolis to complete the 2004 series. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1